WHEN Heart of Midlothian last won the Scottish Cup three years ago and split the Old Firm in the SPL, Andrew Driver was making his way in the game as a graduate of the club's academy.
Should the opportunity arise at Tynecastle next season to reprise that challenge at the summit of the domestic game then the winger is adamant he wants to play his part.
Although a number of clubs – including Coventry, Burnley and Rangers – have b
een credited with an interest in signing the winger this summer, Driver, who was promoting Hearts' season ticket launch, insists he doesn't want to miss out on the chance of being part of something big with the club he joined as a 16-year-old.
Asked what he made of speculation he could follow Christophe Berra, who signed for Wolves in January, and play for an English club next season, Driver replied: "It's something I don't like to think about because I'm happy where I am. I've signed a long contract and the way things are going here, (leaving] is something you wouldn't really want to do.
"You want to keep going for Hearts. It's not something I'll think about until the day Hearts come to me and say: 'We've accepted this bid, now you'll have to think about it.'
"There's no point in considering it before then. Getting into Europe is a massive incentive to stay and you don't want to think: 'If I leave am I going to miss out on something special here?'
"That's what you want to do, you want to challenge for trophies. It's a fantastic achievement to challenge the Old Firm and if the opportunity came along to do that again then it's something I'd really want to be involved with."
Blessed with pace and skill, the 21-year-old says the transformation in performance both individually and collectively at Hearts under the management of Csaba Laszlo is astonishing. Retaining the manager's services, as well as the bulk of the current squad scrapping for third place in the SPL, will be crucial to the team's development
"Last season was totally depressing from Christmas onwards. We underachieved massively as a team and personally I found it hard," he recalled.
"You just wanted to get it over and done with and get away. Whereas now you come into training and want to improve as a player, you want to gain that extra yard. You want to do all the extra things to be as good a player as you can be.
"We've made massive strides (as a football team] this season. If we'd talked about this a year ago at that time it was all doom and gloom and there didn't seem to be a way back from the position we were in, but, with the new manager coming in, that gave us an organisation and showed the team can compete at the top level.
"You've got to keep moving forward and getting to where we want to be this season means gaining enough points to finish in third place.
"I know everyone kept saying that the main objective was to reach the top six, but if we don't make it into the top three now, that will be a massive disappointment. Next season, when we hope to be in Europe, we would want to impress there.
"This is a generally young team which is sure to keep improving. If we can keep the manager and the personnel in the side then we will take more forward strides. The manager transformed us in the first two months, in our pre-season. This is a completely different team from the year before.
"But it's only now when we're fighting for third place that people are starting to notice the change. It will be massive for this club to keep the manager. He has put the base there and says himself when he comes in that there are still a lot of things to be improved.
"But it will also be so important to keep the personnel at the club. If you keep this group of players together then we can maintain momentum. As an individual, when you're winning games, the difference is that you want to do more. When you're losing games, it's hard if the fans are on your back. Now when the players come in we're confident and want to play. That's why the team tends to do better.
"Over the last couple of seasons, it's been the same squad. There haven't been many signings and while Christophe (Berra] was a massive loss, we're still achieving what we want to achieve.
"If we lose some of the lads who are out of contract at the end of the season, I hope the club can bolster the squad. You don't want to rest on your laurels – we need to improve in order to take the next step forward."
The shrewd manner in which Laszlo has organised Hearts also drew praise from Ruben Palazuelos, the Spanish midfielder. His older brother Emilio and younger sibling Alberto travelled to watch him play for the first time on Saturday against Celtic and were suitably impressed. "They saw a very exciting game," he smiled. "There's not a big difference between Hearts and Rangers and Celtic. We can get closer to them if this team stays together."
